Phil Jackson, shown May 4, 2011, coaching the Lakers, is a candidate for the Nets job. / Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

by Sam Amick, USA TODAY Sports

What do Avery Johnson and Mike Brown have in common beyond being the first two NBA head coaches to be fired this season?

They both learned the hard way what it's like to work for the league's bigger spenders.

The Brooklyn Nets and their Russian owner, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, showed Johnson the door Thursday, deeming a 14-14 start and recent slide (10 losses in the past 13 games) unacceptable for a team that made major offseason moves (re-signing Deron Williams, Gerald Wallace and Brook Lopez and trading for Joe Johnson) and has an $83.5 million payroll, No. 3 that ranks third in the league.

The Los Angeles Lakers swapped Brown for Mike D'Antoni in early November, when they took all of five games to decide an upgrade was needed for the $100 million, so-called Super Team that is more expensive than the rest.

A higher price tag means increased pressure. And since and the fact that coaches are easier to change than players, means they'll almost always take the fall for an underachieving team.

The question in the case of the Nets, though, is whether expectations met reality.

Despite Prokhorov proclaiming early last month that a successful season could mean reaching the Eastern Conference finals, the view that the Nets could be the East's second-best team is hardly the prevailing sentiment among executives around the league.

Still, Nets general manager Billy King insisted the Johnson decision wasn't just about the need to get more out of the roster because of the price that was paid for it.

"I think each situation is different, and it's not just how much money you spend," King told USA TODAY Sports by phone Thursday evening. "Being inside of it, you evaluate it based on what you're going through at the time. I just don't think we were playing the way we had played. And I couldn't put a finger on why.

"Were we as good as 11-4? I don't know. Are we as bad as 14-14? Now I don't know. But I think we're somewhere in the middle there, and we weren't playing up to that potential."

The next coach of the Nets is P.J. Carlesimo, though only on an interim basis. As for the more famous P.J. - as in Phil Jackson - or any other candidates who might be pursued as replacement for Johnson? The options are many after team officials decided a 14-14 start warranted a coaching change in the third and final year of Johnson's contract.

According to a person with knowledge of the Nets' plans who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of a coaching search, they fully intend on reaching out to Jackson. And while Jackson's representative told NBA.com he would not be interested in the Nets job at this time, it would be unwise to discount that possibility entirely.

The Nets are not expected to move forward with their coaching search until after Monday, and the search is expected to be wide-ranging, according to two people who had been briefed on the team's plans.

Given Prokhorov's penchant for big spending and even bigger dreams, it's likely some of the biggest names in the coaching game will be contacted.

Former Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy wrote in a text message to USA TODAY Sports that he had no interest in the Nets job. His brother, former New York Knicks and Houston Rockets coach and current TNT analyst Jeff Van Gundy, simply declined to comment in a text message.

Jackson's longtime Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, who is the Indiana Pacers' associate head coach, continues to look for his first head-coaching opportunity and could be a good fit if Jackson indeed shows no interest.

Former Portland Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillan has ties to Williams, the Nets point guard, from their time together with Team USA and is available after being fired in March.

Johnson was named the league's coach of the month for October and November after an 11-4 start. But after looking like the team Prokhorov had hoped for when he proclaimed early last month that reaching the Eastern Conference finals was a realistic goal, the Nets lost 10 of their last 13 games.

King said it was clear Johnson no longer was the right coach to lead his team. "When you're not playing a certain way, you start having doubts," he told USA TODAY Sports by phone Thursday. evening. "You start thinking, 'How can you correct it, and is it correctable?' "

As for the search and who might be next, King wasn't about to tip his hand.

"Right now, we're going to let P.J. coach, and we'll re-evaluate it from there," King said. "We're not even focusing on that. We're just going to let P.J. coach."